Chapter 28: I’ll make Elowen divorce him.

At the hospital...

A doctor examined Seraphina.

"Doctor, is my daughter okay?" Soren’s voice betrayed his anxiety.

The doctor glanced at him. "Nothing is serious. I’ll have the nurse clean and treat her injuries."

A nurse immediately came over and began tending to Seraphina’s wounds.

"How is it not serious?" Soren asked. "Her cheek turned blue. There are scratches all over her body. What if they become infected?"

"Relax, Mr. Vale. She is fine."

"How can I relax?" Soren’s voice grew sterner. "My daughter is in bad shape. She was assaulted."

"Soren..." Elowen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sera is fine. Why are you so worked up?"

"Because..." Soren stopped all of a sudden. His breath came in quick, nervous bursts.

He couldn’t forget what had happened in his previous life. He had seen Seraphina and Elowen die.

The smallest trace of blood could still drag him back to that horrifying scene he had witnessed.

For a moment, the surroundings blurred with the memory.

He was terrified fate would take his wife and daughter away again, no matter how hard he tried.

"What is it?" Elowen studied him curiously.

Soren looked away quickly. "Because..." He swallowed. "I can’t stand seeing her hurt."

His words silenced her.

She couldn’t reconcile the man sitting in front of her with the one she remembered.

This was the same man who had refused to come home when Seraphina was sick. Yet here he was sitting at the hospital, worrying over scratches on his daughter’s skin.

She couldn’t stop wondering how someone could change so suddenly. If he were pretending, wouldn’t there be some sign?

Elowen had expected to see a trace of impatience or a flash of annoyance. But there was none.

His concern seemed painfully genuine.

That only made her even more confused.

"It’s natural for a father to worry about his daughter," the doctor said, breaking Elowen’s trance. "It shows how much you love her."

"Of course, I love her," Soren said without hesitation. "She is precious to me."

Elowen stood all of a sudden. An uneasy flutter stirred beneath her ribs.

"What happened?" Soren looked at her, caught off guard.

Elowen avoided his gaze. "Since there is nothing serious, I want to leave. Let’s go, Sera."

She held Seraphina’s hand and walked out the door.

Soren watched them leave, his eyebrows creasing. ’Is she okay?’

He also rose from the chair. "Thank you, doctor."

Soren followed her out of the room. "Elowen. Wait..."

He quickly caught up with her. "Why did you leave all of a sudden? What’s wrong?"

"Nothing." She sneakily wiped the corner of her eye. "I remembered something. I need to go home now."

"Alright. I’ll take you home."

"No..." She turned to him. Despite the nervousness, her face remained stern. "You should go back to the office. I’ll take a taxi."

Without waiting for his response, she hurried away with Seraphina.

Soren didn’t follow. He stood where he was, watching their retreating forms with a complicated look in his eyes.

When they came out of the hospital, Seraphina asked, "Why did you refuse Daddy when he was ready to take us home?"

Elowen ignored the unsettling knot inside her stomach and explained to her daughter, "Your daddy is a busy man. He left his work behind to come to your school. He should have returned to work already. But everything got delayed."

She gently smoothed her hair.

"We shouldn’t make him delay further."

Seraphina understood. "I get it, Mommy. I am happy that Daddy came and helped us. But I’ll never disturb him while he is working."

"Who said you would disturb me?" Soren’s voice came from behind them.

Both mother and daughter turned around. They saw him walking toward them.

While Seraphina grinned, Elowen frowned.

"I spent years sitting in my office, putting work before my family. But not anymore."

Soren scooped Seraphina up. "My family comes first."

He turned to Elowen.

"I can understand your hesitation. I am not asking you to trust me. But don’t walk away from me."

Elowen parted her lips to respond.

"You must be tired," he said before she could speak. "Let’s go home first. Then we’ll talk."

At Vale Mansion...

"Mrs. Vale, you have to help me," Tahlia said, putting on a helpless expression. "Soren humiliated me today in front of his assistant. He stopped me from entering his office. I was so embarrassed."

"What did you say?" Valora’s eyes were full of disbelief. "He did all that?"

"Yes," Tahlia replied, wiping fake tears from her eyes. "He has grown cold toward me lately. I don’t understand why."

Valora couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "Soren always treated you kindly. He obviously loves you. Why would he suddenly humiliate you like that?"

She gave her a hard look. "Don’t blame him. You must have done something to upset him."

Tahlia’s heart jolted instantly.

"I did nothing," she tried to explain desperately. "Mrs. Vale, you know how much I love him. I would never do anything to upset him."

She suddenly held her hand. "It must be because of Elowen. She always manages to make him angry."

Valora’s features twisted with disgust. She had no reason to doubt Tahlia.

As far as she knew, Soren had never wanted this marriage in the first place.

"That lowborn filth," she muttered. "If it had not been for my father-in-law, that bitch would never have married into this family. Seven years..."

Her teeth pressed together as her anger rose. "Soren had been trapped in that unwanted marriage for seven years. He had felt nothing but tormented every moment with her."

The more she thought, the angrier she grew. "He had suffered enough. It’s time to end this marriage."

Tahlia’s eyes shone with delight. But she hid it and wore a worried look.

"Forget it, Mrs. Vale. They have been married for seven years. They have a daughter now. No matter how angry Soren is, he won’t break up with her. And you shouldn’t force him."

"She forced herself into Soren’s life," Valora snapped. "I won’t tolerate a conniving woman like her anymore. I’ll talk to Soren."

Determination set in her eyes.

"He has to divorce her and marry you."

Those words were exactly what Tahlia had been waiting to hear. Her heart thumped with excitement. But she still made a sorrowful look.

"It’s too much to ask him to marry me, Mrs. Vale. He won’t agree. Besides, I don’t want people to call me a home wrecker."

"What nonsense are you thinking?" Valora squeezed her hand. "You are the woman my son loves. It’s Elowen who came between you two."

Her mind went back to the past. "Back then, I could do nothing because of Father-in-law. But I won’t stay quiet any longer. It’s time for Elowen to leave this family."

Tahlia finally allowed a small smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Vale. Yes, I do love Soren. I always have. I’ve wanted to be his wife for a long time. But..."

Her face crumpled as the smile was wiped away slowly. "What if Soren refused to divorce Elowen?"

"Don’t worry about that," Valora reassured her. "I’ll make Elowen divorce him."

Tahlia lowered her head to hide her excitement. At last, Elowen would be out of Soren’s life.

’Once the divorce is finalized, I’d make her disappear from this world,’ she thought darkly.